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Federal Tax Credit Spurs Golf Cart Purchases

Pete Strom — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:47:51 GMT

Keeping up with the neighbors has a whole new meaning in light of Uncle Sam's generous Federal Tax Credit offered to those who purchase a qualifying electric golf cart on or before December 31, 2009.

The credit provides for between $2,500 and $7,500 depending upon the type of battery used in the LSV (low speed vehicle). Many states, including South Carolina, are offering an additional credit on top of the Federal Tax Credit making the deal even more enticing, and in some cases, practically free.

Although traditional golf carts are not actually covered by the credit, many of the models available look like golf carts, but are actually better equipped for jetting around your neighborhood complete with lights and rear view mirrors.

On average, they can go between 15 and 25 miles per hour and can travel between 30 and 40 miles before needing to be recharged.

There is no limit on the number of electric cars that one can buy, and to qualify you must purchase the vehicle on or before December 31, 2009.

The only caveat is that the LSV must be federally approved or it will not qualify for the credit. We have the list that tells you how to bring joy to your holiday season.

Strom Law Firm is a personal injury and criminal defense law firm centrally located in Columbia, South Carolina. Our firm proudly handles personal injury, criminal defense, defective products, class actions, pharmaceutical liability, toxic torts, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, workers compensation, social security, veteran's benefits, qui tam, predatory lending, tax investigations, business litigation, and wills and estates. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, and Georgia

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pete Strom

Controversy Ridden Accutane Pulled from Pharmacy Shelves

Pete Strom — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:52:36 GMT

Roche Holding AG announced last week that it is pulling its popular acne medicine Accutane from the U.S. market citing economic reasons for its decision.

Accutane was released on the market in 1982. It is estimated that about 13 million people took Accutane before the patent expired in 2002, making it Roche’s second-best selling medicine. Roche claims that after the patent expired, it faced serious challenges from its competitors reducing its market share to less than 5%.

Although the company cites economic reasons, Accutane has always been cloaked in controversy. Controversy surrounding the drug first began in the late eighties when Accutane was linked to serious birth defects.

In 2002, Roche and the Food and Drug Administration launched what became an unsuccessful tracking program designed to reduce the number of pregnant women taking the drug. Nearly 80 percent of pregnancies reported by women taking Accutane during the tracking program’s first year ended in elective abortion because of concerns over the high rates of birth defects.

Accutane has also been reported to cause psychiatric problems including depression and suicide. In 2004, lawmakers and Michigan Representative Bart Stupak sent a letter to Health and Human Services urging the agency to take the drug off the market after Stupak’s 17-year-old son committed suicide while taking Accutane four years prior. Lawyers for John Mullarkey, a 20 year old man currently facing murder charges for the death of his 16 year old girlfriend, claim that he was suffering from an Accutane fueled depression when the deaths occurred.

Roche currently faces nearly 5,000 product liability lawsuits. Recently, the company lost several lawsuits to plaintiffs who claimed Accutane caused them to develop inflammatory bowel disease. Juries have awarded over $33 million to multiple victims across the United States.

Accutane has already been pulled from the market in 11 other countries. June 25th, 2009 was the last day for distribution in the United States. Although Accutane is no longer available from Roche directly, it may still be available at pharmacies.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pete Strom

Black Friday Deals Abound

Pete Strom — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:18:54 GMT

Black Friday, love it or hate it, mystery always surrounds the deals to be found. Websites are already popping up giving us glimpses of what may be worth standing in line for this year.

If you are among those who will browse the ads on Thanksgiving Day to determine where to shop on Black Friday, please consider the following tips to reduce your chances of being a victim.

1. Parking: Pay attention to where you park and try to locate a spot that is close to the door or police substation if available. You don't want to come out of the store loaded down with presents and make yourself vulnerable by wandering through the parking lot. As an added tip, it may be helpful to place a magnet or sticker on your car so that when you come out and see 50 silver sedans, you can quickly identify which one is yours.

2. When coming out of a store, have your keys ready and in your hand. Don't risk being approached by a thief or carjacker because you are fumbling in your bag looking for your keys. In addition, you will have access to your panic button and your keys can be used as a weapon if necessary.

3. When you are out shopping, keep your gifts out of view, and your doors locked.

4. If you carry a purse, consider keeping your cell phone in your pocket. In the event that your purse is stolen, you will still have your phone to call for help.

5. Stay aware of your surroundings. It is very easy to get distracted and increase your chances of being a target. Remember texting and talking on your cell phone also increase your chance of being distracted.

6. Shop with a friend or family member instead of shopping alone, especially if you are shopping at night.

7. Avoid carrying large amounts of cash.

8. Dress comfortably. Although your new high heeled boots may be utra stylish, you do not want to wear anything that will restrict your movement. Don't forget about the rush of the crowds when the door opens.

9. Check to see if the deals you are after are available online. Many stores are honoring the same deals online for delivery and in store pick up.

10. Watch out for other drivers. Although you may be paying attention, the driver next to you may not be, and looking out for other drivers will decrease your chance of being in an accident.

Happy Thanksgiving, and for those of you braving the crowds, Happy Shopping.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pete Strom

South Carolina’s Child Passenger Restraint Law Mandates Proper Car Seat Safety

Robyn Madden — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:02:44 GMT

This week we celebrate National Child Passenger Safety Week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-sCQsy5Pbk

As a parent, I’ll never forget our first car seat installation. I read the installation manual in its entirety, agonized over where to place the car seat in the car, climbed all over the car to determine how to install the seat using the LATCH (lower anchors and tethers for children system) system, struggled over how to pull the straps on the car seat tight so that the seat was snug and secure, and when finished was proud of my efforts, thinking there was absolutely no way that this car seat was installed improperly. I was wrong.

The fact is that even if you read the car seat manual, you will still more than likely install your child’s car seat improperly, possibly risking your child’s safety when he or she needs it most. Over 81 percent of child restraints are used incorrectly. This includes 88 percent of forward-facing toddler seats, 86 percent of rear-facing infant seats and 85 percent of safety belts, as determined at child passenger safety seat inspection stations across the country. Despite my best efforts, I was one of those statistics.

When I pulled up for my car seat inspection I expected to pass with flying colors. Instead a police officer climbed in my car and in approximately 5 seconds determined that the car seat was improperly installed. I was dumbfounded. The officer proceeded to pull out an ordinary pool noodle, cut it to size, and leveraged it to properly position and safely secure the seat. In less than five minutes I was in, out, and on my way.

These inspections are FREE and they only take a minute. To make it even easier, many of the car seat check points provide other activities geared towards children to make the time go by even faster.

PROTECT YOUR CHILD. PROPER RESTRAINT MAY SAVE YOUR CHILD’S LIFE:

According to the CDC, car seats reduce the risk of death in car crashes by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers ages one to four.

For children aged 4 to 7, booster seats reduce injury risk by 59% compared to safety belts alone!

In fact, auto accidents are the leading cause of death for children under 12. In 2006, National statistics showed that less than one out of every five kids between the ages of four and eight is riding in a car booster seat. Don’t take the chance.

The CDC recommends that all children younger than 13 years old should ride in the back seat. This is even more important today given that most cars on the road have airbags that may deploy in the event of an accident.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that your child be retrained in a booster seat until the seat belt fits properly, usually around age 8 and when your child is approximately 4 ft 9 inches tall.

CHOOSING A SEAT AND YOUR OBLIGATIONS UNDER SOUTH CAROLINA LAW:

· The seat must meet federal standards.

· The seat must fit properly in your car. Read your (vehicle) owner’s manual for information about using a child restraint in your vehicle. For example, your vehicle may not be equipped to support the LATCH system.

· The seat must be appropriate for the child’s weight and height.

· Do not purchase a car seat second hand if you can avoid it.

· Watch for recalls. Our website, lists all recalls from the Consumer Product Safety Commission making it easier to keep up.

· Your child’s age and weight determine the type of car seat that is appropriate.

· Use LATCH or a seat belt, but never both.

· Understand that South Carolina law is not as stringent as what experts recommend.

· In South Carolina, Infants should ride in rear facing seats until at least 20 pounds or one year of age.

Infants in rear-facing car seats should NEVER ride in the front seat of vehicles with airbags.

Infants should be reclined, up to a 45-degree angle to ensure comfort.

Thread the harness straps through the lowest pair of slots in the back of the seat. This will help keep the baby restrained in the seat, providing additional protection in a crash.

Buckle the harness system between the infant’s legs.

Tighten the harness so that the child is snugly secured in the seat.

Secure the safety belt to the safety seat. The safety seat should not move more than 1 inch toward the front of the vehicle or side-to-side.

Your infants head should stay at least 2 inches below the top of the child seat. If your child is too tall for his or her seat before the child turns one, you should move the child to a convertible seat designed to be placed in a rear facing or forward position. If you use a convertible seat in the rear facing position, the harness straps should be at or below the infant’s shoulders; the chest clip should be at the infant’s armpit level.

· In South Carolina, Children between the ages of 1 and 5 weighing between 20 and 40 pounds should ride in a forward-facing safety seat or harness system, ideally a 5 point safety restraint system.

Thread the harness straps through the top pair of slots in the back of the safety seat.

Buckle the harness system between the child’s legs.

Tighten the harness so that the child is snugly secured in the seat.

Secure the safety belt to the safety seat. The safety seat should not move more than 1 inch toward the front of the vehicle or side to side.

Combination seats, which are often marketed as “highback boosters,” may be used provided that your child is the appropriate age and weight. These boosters usually have a harness that can be used from 30 pounds up to 40 pounds or more and removed to convert the seat to a booster. As a parent, I must say that these are well worth the money. They come in many themes, look more grown up and are easy to install and remove.

· South Carolina requires that Children between the ages of 1 and 6 who weigh over 40 but less than 80 pounds ride in a seat secured by a belt-positioning booster seat; experts recommend that you use a booster seat until your child is 8 years old and taller than 4 ft 9 inches.

Children weighing between 40 and up to 80 pounds and between the ages of 1 and 6 should be restrained by a belt-positioning booster seat, not a harness.

Belt-positioning booster seats, which are used in conjunction with the vehicle’s lap-and-shoulder safety-belt system, provide good upper-body protection for children weighing more than 40 pounds.

A booster seat keeps the vehicle seat belt positioned correctly over the strongest bones—the shoulders and hips. Without a booster seat, the seat belt probably won’t work and fit properly.

High back boosters provide head support not provided by vehicle seats with low backs or no head restraints.

The mid-point of the back of the child’s head (ear level) should not be above the vehicle seat back cushion or the back of the high back booster.

Technically, in South Carolina, if your child is under 6 but can sit with his or her back straight against the vehicle seat cushion, with his knees bent over the vehicle’s seat edge without slouching, the child may be seated in the regular back seat and secured by an adult safety belt.

Don’t get lazy. Many parents forgo these seats thinking that their child is big enough and/or it is not worth the battle. These seats are very easy to install and remove and will protect your child in the event of an accident. Don’t take an unnecessary chance. Remember, experts recommend that your child should ride in a booster seat beyond his or her 6th birthday until he or she is 80 pounds and at least 4 ft 9 inches.

· For children restrained in an adult safety belt:

The lap belt should fit low across the hips, NEVER across the face, neck or stomach.

The shoulder belt should fit snug across the shoulder, not the neck.

Generally, seat belts do not fit a child correctly until at least 60 pounds.

ADDITIONAL TIPS:

Set a good example and always buckle your seat belt. Even better, refuse to start your car until everyone is buckled.

Begin using the safety seat immediately and plan ahead. Install your child’s car seat weeks before your due date to ensure that you do not have to worry with it at the last minute. Protect your newborn in a safety seat on the way home from the hospital and every trip even if you are just running up the road. Remember, accidents happen closest to home, so don’t be fooled by a false sense of security and allow your children to be unbuckled for even a quick trip.

Be persistent. Every parent knows that children will seek to push the limits. If your child thinks that he or she can throw a temper tantrum to avoid sitting in his or her seat, the child will likely continue to do so.

When your child graduates to a larger seat, allow him or her to help you pick the new car seat out. Children are happier and more inclined not to fight their safety seat when they are comfortable. There are many “themed” car and booster seats available now targeted directly to children.

Be careful of what you give your child while he or she is in the car, including sharp objects, food, and drink. If there is an emergency, remember you are in the front seat and may not be able to reach your child immediately.

Remember, not only do you have to worry about your driving, you have to worry about everyone else on the road.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Robyn Madden

Tractor Trailer Accidents Problematic in South Carolina

Pete Strom — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:44:13 GMT

Despite our best efforts, we cannot control what other drivers on the road are doing. We were especially saddened yesterday to learn of another death to an innocent victim, Melody Wilson, a wife, and proud mother of four who was killed by an 18 wheeler that overturned onto her car in Hanahan, South Carolina.

Although Federal guidelines that dictate the weight limit of commercial trucks on the road, investigators believe that the truck, which was carrying wood chips was 2,000 pounds over the weight limit.

Yet another accident occured this morning, in Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina between a tanker truck carrying diesel fuel and a pickup truck. The man, who has not been identified, is currently partially lodged under the 18 wheeler. Authorities will have to lift up the tanker truck in order to get the driver of the pick up truck out. Fortunately, the man is able to talk with emergency responders.

Trucking is a highly regulated industry. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FMCSA (linked) is the Federal agency charged with creating these regulations. There are hundreds of regulations, prerequisites for a commercial truck driver to place a tractor trailer on the road.

Despite these existence of these regulations, many truck drivers choose to drive fatigued, without proper training or experience, drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, fail to maintain their truck in proper working order, blatantly disregard size, weight, and loading requirements, fail to adhere to trucking industry regulations, ignore posted speed limits, weather conditions, and fail to pay attention by talking, texting, or otherwise. On average, 500,000 tractor trailer accidents occur each year.

When an accident occurs between a semi and a regular automobile, 80,000 pounds of force is brought against an average vehicle weight of 3,000 to 5,000 pounds, forcing unsuspected motorists to instantaneously be faced with injury or even death.

Please drive defensively out there. Know that semi trucks need more time to come to a stop, have larger blind spots on all sides, carry larger amounts of cargo, have a high center of gravity leading them to be more likely to overturn, and despite your best efforts to avoid them, cause on average 500,000 accidents per year.

Strom Law Firm is a personal injury and criminal defense law firm centrally located in Columbia, South Carolina. Our firm proudly handles personal injury, criminal defense, defective products, class actions, pharmaceutical liability, toxic torts, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, workers compensation, social security, veteran's benefits, qui tam, predatory lending, tax investigations, business litigation, and wills and estates. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, Georgia, Florida, and the District of Columbia.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pete Strom

ETHEX Recalls Continue

Amanda Wick — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:24:49 GMT

ETHEX CORPORATION and KV Pharmaceuticals Continuously Expand List of Recalled Drugs

If you've been watching the news or FDA recalls list lately, a name that pops up over and over again is ETHEX Corporation. Over the past several months, Ther-Rx Corporation and ETHEX Corporation, subsidiaries of KV Pharmaceutical Company, have issued urgent, nationwide recalls of several products due to their potential harm to consumers.

In November 2008, ETHEX Corporation issued a voluntarily recall of specific lots of at least four generic pharmaceutical products that it markets. These included:

Morphine Sulfate Extended Release Tablets (15 and 30 mg)
Dextroamphetamine Sulfate Tablets (10 mg)
Propafenone HCl Tablets (150, 225, and 300 mg)
Isosorbide Mononitrate Extended Release Tablets (30 and 60 mg)

According to the Food and Drug Administration, these lots were recalled due to the possibility that they may contain oversized tablets. These oversized tablets potentially contain more than the intended levels of the active drug ingredient, which can result in patients receiving nearly twice the prescribed dosage of the drugs. Overdoses of these drugs can have serious or life-threatening consequences which can include: irregular heartbeat, dangerous changes in blood pressure, fainting, difficulty or lack of breathing, and rapid heart rate.

A list of recalled drugs can be found by visiting the FDA website. Although the recall was originally issued at the wholesale level, it was expanded to the retail level in February 2009. This resulted in consumers receiving letters from their pharmacies that their drug had been recalled. However, by the time the pharmacy sent out the letter, patients had often already consumed the prescribed drugs and had thrown away the medication bottles. Please note that if you are taking a drug that is recalled, keeping your empty prescription bottles can be vital to the process of establishing causation between any injury you suffer and the recalled drug. Sadly, often the letters come out after a recall is issued and in some cases, after patients have taken the oversized drugs and have suffered illnesses or died.

The ETHEX recall debacle continued when, in January 2009, the ETHEX Corporation recalled an additional set of drugs because the products may have been manufactured under conditions that did not sufficiently comply with current FDA guidelines on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPSs). The FDA guidelines on GMPs regulate various aspects of production including the design, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, storage, and installation of a product. These guidelines can be found on the FDA’s webpage. While some violations can be as small as improper packaging, other violations can cause the pills to be defective including coating that might be too thin, an active ingredient might be double in strength, and a number of other problems that could cause injury to consumers.

The ETHEX Corporation expanded its recall in February 2009 to include several prenatal and iron supplements. Recalls and letters issued to retailers and consumers, which contain instructions on how to return recalled products for a refund, can be viewed at the KV Pharmaceutical website.

If you or a loved one is currently taking or has an order in progress for any of the products listed above, contact your prescriber or health care professional immediately. While patients should continue to take medications in accordance with their prescriptions, as suddenly stopping needed medication may also place patients at risk, the best thing to do is to call your doctor immediately.

If you or someone you know was injured as a result of taking these medications, try to retain all documents, receipts and empty medication bottles related to the drug. This includes keeping any letters you may have received from your pharmacy regarding a recall. But especially, try to retain the prescription bottle in which you received the medication. And seek help from an attorney who will preserve your rights.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amanda Wick

Reglan Users Beware, Temporary Reflux Relief May Lead to Incurable Twitching

Pete Strom — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:52:06 GMT

That is enough to give you heartburn in and of itself, right?

Statistics indicate that approximately 25 million Americans suffer from some form of heartburn and/or gastric reflux.

Statistics also indicate that as many as 74% of new moms choose to feed their babies breast milk over formula.

So what in the world do these two facts have in common? Both groups make up the estimated 2 million users who were prescribed and may be currently taking Reglan.

Reglan is the brand name for metoclopramide. Metoclopramide is a substance that helps to speed the stomach muscles, thereby shortening the time it takes for stomach contents to empty into the stomach. One of Reglan's side effects is that it increases prolactin, the milk-making hormone in the brain, which in conjunction with pumping will stimulate milk production (hence the prescription for new moms). Reglan is additionally prescribed to women who are pregnant and experiencing morning sickness, infants and children with reflux, and for nausea associated with migraines.

No, its not a snake oil, it’s a drug that has recently come under scrutiny after being tied to tardive dyskinesia, a condition that causes rapid muscle movements that are repetitive, involuntary and purposeless. The condition may affect facial muscles, resulting in grimacing, tongue protrusion, lip smacking, puckering and pursing of the lips, and rapid eye blinking. Patents with tardive dyskinesia have difficulty not moving and are often embarrassed by the symptoms of the disease, causing them to withdraw socially, leading to depression.

Although the drug has not been recalled, the FDA issued a black box warning advising you to carefully consider its potential side effects and make an informed decision before taking Reglan for any period of time. The black box warning is the strongest labeling that the FDA may place upon a drug. The FDA press release specifically advises “[t]he chronic use of metoclopramide therapy should be avoided in all but rare cases where the benefit is believed to outweigh the risk.”, leaving consumers the choice of whether to continue taking the drug. Notably, the symptoms are rarely reversible even if you stop using Reglan.

Reglan is recommended for up to 3 months. However, may reports claim that as many as 20% use it for longer periods due to the chronic nature of their condition.

If you or someone you know uses Reglan and suffers from tardive dyskinesia we urge you to contact one of our Reglan lawyers as soon as possible to protect your legal rights.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pete Strom

Chinese Drywall Makes it to Charleston, South Carolina

Amanda Wick — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:21:35 GMT

While it no longer seems like "news" to report something defective being manufactured and imported from China, the most recent problematic product being imported into the U.S. is Chinese drywall.

You may have heard on the news the problems found, and investigations being conducted in South Florida that are tied to problems with “Chinese drywall,” drywall that was manufactured and imported from China. Homeowners who have Chinese drywall in their homes have reported a putrid, “rotten egg” smell, which may cause health problems. In addition, it appears that gas released from the drywall causes corrosion of metals in household appliances. Unfortunately, the humidity and warm climates of areas such as Charleston, South Carolina and Florida, where much of the Chinese drywall was imported, make the odor and potential problems associated with Chinese-made drywall more prevalent.

Last week, Federal investigators with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) began investigating in Florida, the first step in a more intense probe into contaminated Chinese drywall. The CPSC and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had been in discussions since January with officials in Florida. But the launch of a formal compliance investigation now brings the full power of the federal government to bear on the problem for the first time.

On Monday, a new class action lawsuit was filed in Florida against Knauf, a German drywall maker, its Chinese units and several U.S. home builders, claiming that the defective product has corroded metal and sickened some homeowners. Knauf is a German company that has two plants in China. The company has acknowledged complaints about odors from some of the drywall from its Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd. plant. Knauf is conducting its own investigation and believes the problem drywall came from a specific gypsum mine. (Drywall is typically made of a layer of gypsum plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper, then kiln dried.) Knauf also reports it stopped using the questionable mine in 2006.

Nearly 68 million pounds of drywall manufactured in China were shipped to the United States in 2006, enough to build between 3,000 and 7,500 average-size single-family homes. While a majority of the material entered New Orleans in 2006 after hurricanes Katrina and Wilma in 2005, 18.8 million pounds of Knauf drywall was shipped to Charleston, South Carolina in 2006. The mass importation of Chinese drywall became prevalent when construction materials became low, causing a spike in drywall imports. The increasing demand for building materials coincided with the rise in drywall from China in the marketplace.

Builders who used Chinese drywall, according to the builders themselves, customers and attorneys, include Lennar Corp., Taylor Morrison, WCI Communities, Meritage Homes, Ryland Homes, Standard Pacific Homes and Aubuchon Homes. Homes in South Carolina, especially around the Charleston area, built between November 2005 and November 2006 may contain the drywall. Lennar Corp. alone has several housing projects in South and North Carolina, near Charleston, Charlotte, Greenville and Myrtle Beach.

The Chinese drywall is especially problematic because the smell can permeate into the wood studs and continue to cause problems after it is removed. While some homebuilders are voluntarily assisting homeowners whose homes were constructed with the drywall, others are not. If you or a loved one has suffered from health problems, or has suffered property damage that you believe is a result of Chinese drywall, please contact a health provider for medical attention and an attorney to preserve your rights.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amanda Wick

South Carolina Ranks First in Violent Crime

Pete Strom — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:35:35 GMT

Recently released Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics show that South Carolina's violent crime rate was the highest in the nation in 2006, with two areas in the top five. Rising 0.5 percent, South Carolina's violent crime rate is 765 per 100,000 people, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report for 2006.

Violent crimes were up almost 2 percent nationwide. Included in violent crimes are murder, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

The third highest ranked city in America is located in South Carolina. Sumter ranks 3rd, only behind the large cites of Detroit and Memphis. Sumter rose to 3rd after being 24th in 2005. Another South Carolina city, Florence, ranks near the top at 5th.

Columbia's metro area, which includes Richland, Lexington, Kershaw, Calhoun, Fairfield, and Saluda counties, saw violent crime increase only a tenth of a percent. But, Columbia now ranks 36th, compared with 77th in 2005.

The FBI, however, warns against using such statistics to label areas "most dangerous" because statistics do not account for neighborhoods or lifestyle choices.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pete Strom

Fatal Car Accident on I-77 Kills 2

Pete Strom — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 15:26:43 GMT

2 Sumter men were killed earlier this week in a fatal car crash on I-77 in Fairfield County. The South Carolina Highway Patrol identified those who died at the scene as 66 year old Charles Ryles Senior and 32-year-old Leonel Garfia Servin.

Investigators say the 1999 Chevy truck ran off the road and into the median before overturning.

Neither man was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident and both were thrown from the pickup truck. There were three additional passengers in the truck, all of whom were treated at a Columbia hospital, where one remains in critical condition.

For more information on auto accidents, please refer to our Auto Accidents Information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pete Strom